


First Cup of Earl Grey

by vials



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, I just really love worrier!Q OK, Light Angst, M/M, Then fluff, also what would they do without Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8774509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vials/pseuds/vials
Summary: Every relationship has its hiccups, but that doesn't stop Q from panicking right up until the moment it's sorted out again.





	

_Things can’t be perfect all the time_ , Q thought to himself, sitting on the edge of the bed, his muscles tense and his eyes stinging. _These things happen. It’s not the end of the world_. 

He had told himself that he would give James time to cool off, that he would give himself time to gather his thoughts, but now he couldn’t remember what they had been arguing about. It had been something stupid, he knew – James had been slightly too short, Q had responded a little too harshly, and before they knew it they had been arguing about anything and everything. Q wanted to remain angry, feeling almost jealous of the way that James had been able to just storm out of the room, out of the flat in general, probably to stew for several hours. Q didn’t have that luxury. The guilt was beginning to creep in even now, and before he could stop himself he was doing what had to be the most annoying thing he had ever done.

Despite the late hour, Eve picked up on the fourth ring. He supposed she was like him in that respect – with jobs like theirs, they could never really say they were off duty. For one absurd second after hearing her tired greeting, Q was possessed by the urge to lie and say something urgent had occurred at work; anything to distract from the fact that he was calling his friend in the middle of the night because of bloody relationship issues.

He supposed he could just hang up, but that would cause more worry than it was worth, not to mention cement him as a true arse for waking her up for nothing. He swallowed, gripping the phone tightly, and forced himself to speak.

“So I think James hates me,” he said, because he couldn’t think of a less dramatic way to put it.

Surprisingly, Eve didn’t seem in the least bit confused. “I highly doubt that.”

“I wouldn’t blame him, to be honest,” Q said, feeling his shoulders slump. “He’s only just got back from assignment and I give him hell.”

“Usually he doesn’t mind you giving him hell,” Eve said, and Q heard her sitting up. “In fact, I’d say he rather likes it.”

Q gave a small smile. “I don’t know about that. Not this time.”

“Well, why don’t you start by telling me what happened?”

So Q told her, haltingly, because the more he tried to place everything chronologically the more he realised he couldn’t bloody remember half of what had happened. He remembered them sniping at one another, he remembered one cutting comment too many that he could barely recall the details of – ironically, he thought it had been something he had said about _wow, so great to have you home, James_ (the memory made his stomach twist with guilt), and he remembered a brief but loud outburst from both sides before James had simply left, walking out without another word. 

“Basically, we’re both bloody children,” he concluded forlornly. “And I wouldn’t blame him if he just didn’t come back.”

“He’ll come back,” Eve said gently. “He just needs some time to cool off. He probably knows as well as you do that there’s no sense prolonging arguments like that. You only end up saying more and more you regret.”

“I just feel _awful_ ,” Q sighed. “He gets back and god knows what happened out there, and then I get on him because he’s a bit short with me. I guess I sometimes forget that it’s not exactly a walk in the park when he goes away. God, do you think I missed something awful? I’ve done that before, I swear I have. Well, not like this, but I’ve thought to myself oh, James is being kind of a dick, and then a while later I’ve been reviewing notes or looking back for information about something and I’ve found out that on that particular mission something awful happened to him, or that he’d been living with something terrible for however long… I’m bloody useless at this, aren’t I?”

“You can’t help it,” Eve said, cutting Q off before he could protest. “Think about it, Q. James hides these things for a reason. Number one, he’s trained to do it, but number two, do you _really_ think that he’s the sort of person to _open up_ about these things?”

Q smiled, amused at the thought of it. “I suppose not.”

“I think he doesn’t mention these things because he gets no relief from it,” Eve said, and Q was sure he heard her shrug. “Why bring it all up when he’s at home, with you, in a place where he’s meant to be able to relax? I’m sure it would drive him mad, if all he did when he came home to you was lie on the couch and talk about his feelings. He dodges the mandatory psych evaluations enough – I should bloody know, I’m the one trying to pencil him in for them, after witnessing poor Tanner running around like he’s got a firework up his arse trying to find him in the first place. I bet the last thing he wants is to do it voluntarily.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Q said, feeling some of the guilt lessen. “But I was still a huge dick.”

“Well, so was he,” Eve said simply. “Listen, when he gets back, go and be an adult. Apologise. Just _talk_ to him. I’m sure he doesn’t hold a grudge. These things happen. There isn’t a couple on earth that doesn’t bicker, or even have the occasional full-on fight. It’s _normal_. Stop worrying so much.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you being a constant voice of reason, Eve,” Q said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry for calling you so late.”

“I’d rather you call than sit there all night being a ball of worry,” Eve told him, and Q laughed. “Tell me how it goes over lunch tomorrow. There’s a new noodle place that’s opened and I’m dying to try it.”

Feeling slightly more at ease, Q was able to move himself to his desk once they had said goodbye, messing around with a few small projects he had to do until he inevitably found himself immersed in a problem that had seemed simpler than it was when he had started. It was only when he had finally worked it out that he noticed the time; the triumph drained from him as he realised he had to be at work in four hours, and James still wasn’t home.

He shut down his laptop and moved aimlessly around the flat for several minutes, telling himself he wouldn’t check. He fed the cats and brushed his teeth and tried to read, and then went back on everything he had told himself and booted up his laptop again. A few minutes later and he had all the information he was going to get – James was safe, and apparently at work, no doubt sleeping on some old sofa or camp bed they had stashed there for unexpected long shifts. Q didn’t know what kind of mood James had to be in before he decided to voluntarily stay at work after a mission, and he didn’t think he wanted to find out. Feeling dejected and more than slightly betrayed, he closed the laptop over and tried to get some sleep.

His efforts had apparently been in vain, because no less than three people told him he looked like a right state when he got into work the next morning. Well, if he was being specific, two people told him he looked a state and the third told him he looked like a corpse, but he supposed the sentiment was the same. Besides, he felt like a corpse. There had been no sign of James on the way in, and Q didn’t know if he wanted to see him or not. He hated to think he was nervous about seeing his own partner, but he hated the silence more. He knew James was unlikely to come down here unless he had to, or unless he wanted to annoy him a bit, but that was a level of playfulness that Q didn’t expect after the night they had had.

It was with no small amount of apprehension that Q saw James wander in to the lab around an hour after he had finally settled into work. Of course he would time it like that – wait until his nerves were manageable and then show up to throw it all up in the air again – and Q dropped his gaze so fast that he didn’t notice what James was holding in his hand until it was set down right in front of him. Q dragged his eyes away from the screen, looking at the steaming mug of tea and then up to James’s completely unreadable face.

“Um,” Q said, before immediately wishing he hadn’t said anything at all.

“A peace offering,” James said, slightly gruff, and Q chewed on his bottom lip for a moment.

“It’s not – well, it wasn’t _just_ you,” he said, before glancing around at some of the others working nearby. They all immediately stared at their screens with an impressive level of concentration. 

“I’m sure you’ve suffered enough,” James said, giving a small smile, and Q felt something in his chest loosen.

“It wasn’t the best night’s sleep I’ve had,” he admitted, before feeling his cheeks immediately start to burn as James leaned over, cupping his face and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“We’ll talk later, if you want,” James told him, and, briefly forgetting himself, Q reached up and rested his hand over the top of James’s.

“Alright,” he said, giving James’s hand a quick squeeze before the other man stepped back again, leaving a warm spot on Q’s face that he couldn’t stop focusing on.

“Do try and remember to drink that,” James said, nodding at the tea, and Q obediently picked it up. “You look like you need it.”

Q took a sip and immediately felt some of the life returning to him. He gave a contented sigh, looking up at James through slightly steamed glasses.

“I really do love you,” he said, and James smiled knowingly.

“Of course you do. I’m a bloody catch.”

Q snorted. “Alright, don’t push your luck. Go on, out of here. We’ll talk later and tell one another exactly how we were arseholes.”

“I look forward to it,” James said, with an exaggerated amount of sincerity. 

Q rolled his eyes, and counted it as a victory that James couldn’t see him smiling into his tea.


End file.
